Sleeping Arrangements
by missparker85
Summary: So what if Buffy woke up curled into the warm body of her watcher? He would simply kiss her forehead, bid her a good morning and set to the extensive task of waking Dawn.
1. one

Buffy would keep her bed. That was never in question. She was the glue holding the project together, she needed her strength, she needed her sleep. And while at first there was enough space for Willow to sleep with Buffy and for Giles to take Willow's room, more girls came and everything had to be rearranged.

Dawn kept her bed and her room, Buffy still had delusions of her sister having a normal life and Dawn was all for that if it meant a mattress. Xander could also keep his ninety minutes on the sofa. But girls bogarted Willow's room and left Giles nowhere.

"I'll take the floor in my room, and Dawnie can sleep with you, and Giles can have her room." Willow said, forever the peacemaker.

"Absolutely not. Dawn you still go to school, you need to be rested and have someplace to do your homework." she looked at Giles. "We'll sleep in shifts." she said and they gave it no more thought. It was nice for about two days- Buffy would grab a few hours in the evening, before sunset if she could, and by the early morning hours, when Giles exhaustedly stumbled upstairs, he could smell her shampoo on the pillow cases and it was comforting. The familiarity of the scent sent him to sleep and he dreamt of the past.

The system inevitably broke down. Anya went to her apartment and Giles tiptoed over sleeping slayers in training to get upstairs. Xander, he found awake, coming out of Dawn's room.

"Spike." he said. "Dawn is on the floor in Buffy's room, so be careful." Giles nodded his thanks for the warning and opened her door. Dawn was curled, asleep in the far corner, just a lump under a pile of old blankets and a quilt, the sleeping bag supply long tapped. What he hadn't realized, but should have, was that Buffy was in bed as well. It was a double, they would both fit, but still, he hesitated. He changed into sweats in the bathroom, tired of sleeping in trousers. She was awake when he came back in.

Without a thought, she held back the covers so he could slide in. He did so and lay flat on his back, staring at her sloped ceiling.

"Did you talk to the Botox thing?" she asked, sleepily.

"Yes." he said, quietly, pointing at Dawn's almost imperceptibly rising and falling heap.

"What was it like?" she said, her voice lowered accordingly.

"Big and... squishy. It blinked a lot." he said, trying to make her smile and she gave him a slight one for effort. "It said the slayer line is in chaos and that is why the first is attacking."

"Is it my fault?" she asked, automatically. He moved on his side, head propped up on his elbow so he could look at her.

"No. When you died, that was the natural order of things. But the fact that you are alive... you're confusing destiny, I think." he said, honestly.

"How is that not my fault?" she asked, sighing.

"You didn't choose to live." he said. "Nevertheless, here you are and I'm glad. Close your eyes, get all the sleep you can." he said, laying back down. There was about a minute of silence.

"Giles?"

"Yes, love?" he said, the endearment like a soothing balm to her soul.

"Do you want to know how Spike is?"

"I suppose."

"He's not broken. And he has a soul now, you know. I think he can be an asset." she said but he put his hand on her shoulder to shush her.

"You don't have to sell me. Just rest." he ordered. Under the covers, she snuggled closer to him.

Mornings could have been awkward but weren't. Everyone was just too tired to care. So what if Xander walked in on one of the girls in the shower and they walked in on him, so what if Willow had to help Spike drink his blood and relieve himself? So what if Buffy woke up curled into the warm body of her watcher? He would simply kiss her forehead, bid her a good morning and set to the extensive task of waking Dawn. She always took a few moments to watch him peel the layers off her sister and coax her into the waking world. Buffy had always been the type to open her eyes and be ready to go but Dawn needed an incentive and Giles served as one well.

He would take her with him to the grocery store or weapon sharpening. They went to the school and had her transferred to home schooling. Her normalcy all but gone, Buffy felt safer having her near and Giles was more than qualified to teach her. Especially since the fiasco of her possibly being one of the potentials and having that battle at the school. She was kept safe and out of the way by him. This morning, she was to be on Spike and Andrew duty.

"I might have gotten up for Spike but not Andrew, Giles, I can't take the Star Wars references!" she whined, rolling back over.

"Dawn-"

"Get your ass up or I'll beat it." Buffy chirped and headed for the shower, she didn't get up early for nothing.

"Charming," Giles said, but he smiled.

The four of them spoke without speaking. Xander, Willow, Buffy, and Giles stood in the kitchen eating what they could (what was left) and had strategy conversations telepathically in their heads, thanks to Willow's magic. But they found themselves doing it at other times, joking, reminiscing. They would laugh at odd times and only Dawn would know what was happening. It was the old, familiar feeling of being left out that brought her comfort. At least some things never changed.

Dawn was downstairs making popcorn with the girls when Buffy and Giles went upstairs to sleep a few hours. Someone might have pointed out how they almost always slept together now, the shifts idea long gone, but no one noticed, no one paid any attention. And the truth was that they preferred sleeping together, it was comforting. She was bruised and scraped, they attacks of abnormally strong vampires and bringers getting worse. Her arm hurt a lot and she winced when she tried to unbutton her shirt.

"Ah, may I help you?" he asked.

"Yeah... I don't know what happened to the healing; it's beginning to take longer. I think my batteries are getting a little low." she quipped and he moved in front of her and started to undo her buttons, careful not to touch her. "I don't bite."

"I just... didn't want to be... inappropriate." he offered, the buttons all undone.

"This isn't high school, Mr. Giles." she said as he moved around to pull her shirt off from the back leaving her in the flimsy tank top she would probably sleep in. "I mean, I trust you more then anyone else and if I thought you were going to hurt me like that I'd go get someone else to help, Xander would jump at the offer, but- what are you doing? That tickles!" she said, trying to move away. His other hand stopped her and she winced, her arm that he held sore. He didn't apologize.

"You told me you had it removed." he growled. "I can't believe you still have this!"

"Giles, I-"

"You lied to me? And how did you hide this?" he asked, fingering the tattoo at the base of her neck. "Am I blind? You wore next to nothing for the rest of high school, I can't believe-"

"Hey!" she said, indignant of the attack on her wardrobe. "Look, I was careful; I covered it or put make up on it if I thought you were going to see it. And I'm sorry I lied about getting it removed. But you still have yours! Why didn't you get yours removed?"

"It's my past Buffy, it's something I deal with."

"Oh, but being tied to a table and tattooed against my will into a club I had to pry the details of out of you about isn't constituted as part of my past? And then, and then you left me there and didn't ask me about it again. I understand that Ms. Calendar was hurt but for that week I didn't exist." she said, angrily. He stepped back at the sound of Jenny's name.

"But... why do you have it still?"

"What do I have of you, Giles? Besides memories? No pictures, no letters or cards, no gifts. I have training and you in another country. When I'm old and you're dead I will have this. I will have proof of you." He hugged her then, wrapped his arms around her broken body and she inhaled deeply. 'I'm sorry' she thought and he sighed.

"I'm sorry, too." he replied.

"Hey... I didn't think we could do that without Willow." she said, stepping back and pulling back the covers on the bed.

"It's pretty powerful magic. This must be residual. It will probably wear off quickly." he said. She turned around and he changed into his pajamas. She was in bed when he turned back around. He got in next to her, turning off the bedside lamp. "Buffy, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. It just shocked me."

'I know.' She thought. He went to sleep.

She was in the library, the old, long gone library. It was intact, all his books there, the evening sun streaming through the windows. Training time. She was standing in the center of the room looking just as bewildered as he felt.

"Buffy?"

"I wouldn't be dreaming this. I mean... we're doing this together, aren't we? Willow's spell?" she asked him.

"I suppose I would be dreaming the library then." he said, walking in, looking around. "This was my favorite time. Alone in here, training with you."

"I thought you hated it... I made you listen to my music and you always clutched your head." she said walking up to him.

"Besides that. I enjoyed watching you do what you do best. Oh, and I hate to tell you this, but you put me in the tweed." he said.

"No!" she said and then laughed. "It's so Giles." she offered, pushing the tweed jacket off his shoulders. He rolled up his cuffs as was his custom and she sighed, pulling on his suspenders lightly. "This was you."

"I was a bit stuffy, wasn't I? Very much under the council's thumb. I didn't realize how far away they were."

"And now, they're gone." she said, almost sadly. "Years and years of knowledge and procedure and bravery and corruption and... me. Gone."

"Yes... I didn't think I'd be sad either but many generations of my family was devoted to it after all, as was I." She pulled him into his office and down onto the couch. He sat behind her and wrapped his arms around and he she rest her back on his chest, lazily.

"This is what I dream about. Lounging. Relaxing. You." she admitted. He smiled, it all felt so unreal. It was unreal but at least this time it wasn't his mind making up her actions. And at least this time he would wake up in Sunnydale with her (quite literally) and not in Bath where it was pouring rain and loneliness.

"I, as well."

"I guess I didn't realize how many slayers are trained but never called. I mean, most of them are dead for this generation and the next judging how young some of them are, but still, there are a lot of girls sharing our bathrooms."

"Slayers don't last very long, I'm afraid. But yes, many are found and trained from birth. You were unusual, not having a Watcher from a young age." he held her closer. "This is dreaming, Buffy, not work, just relax. Nothing can hurt us here." with that, he planted his lips on the space where her neck met her shoulder and drowsily kissed her there not asking more or expecting anything in return. And had they been awake they both might have thought differently but in their shared dream, they had no one to answer to but themselves. It just felt so right that neither questioned it. Her head rolled back to give him more access. The lighting never faded, they never got tired, and the old Sunnydale High felt like home. They turned to each other.

"WAKE UP." they said in perfect unison.

"That was weird." Buffy said, reaching over him to turn off the alarm. "It seemed like ten minutes. How was that five hours?"

"It was a dream. Our perception of time was obviously... ah... skewed." he offered, still groggy. She reached up to where he had been kissing her and blushed slightly.

"It was nice." Dawn knocked lightly.

"Hey, are you guys up?" she asked, pushing the door open slightly.

"Come on in, we're awake." She called, pushing him out of the bed so that she could get out. He cleared his throat and looked at her pointedly. She got the hint and let him stay under the covers, climbing over him to greet her sister. She didn't mind Giles smoochies but his morning/dream induced erection was still wig worthy.

"It's almost sun down, so... you know. Thought the slayer might wanna be awake for what ever is about to happen." she said.

"Thanks, munchkin. We'll get dressed and be down." Dawn left, and she faced him. "Sorry, wasn't thinking."

"Q-quite all right." he tried not to look down. "How is your arm?"

"Much better." she stood in front of her closet thoughtfully. "So, pretty much whatever I wear gets ruined. What do you hate the most?" she said, trying to make light conversation.

"Buffy-"

"Do you think that if I had gotten a watcher at birth... that if I were more like Kendra was, I'd be a better slayer? I mean, yeah, she was intense at first but she was a good slayer." she pouted slightly at the memory of her friend. Her friend that had, inadvertently, caused Faith.

"Kendra was the ideal Slayer in the eyes of the council, yes, but you are the one that is alive. And Faith, because I know where you are headed with this, was also too extreme. While unorthodox, you are balanced." he got up now, and took her hand. "Now is not the time for doubting." he warned her. "Now is the time for strength." With that he kissed her cheek.

She never wanted to think about evil ever again. They had won but... well, she didn't want to live her life in the lists of people she had lost (Spike) but in the people who had survived. There were two Slayers in training left, but Anya was gone too. Like always though, the Scoobies were all accounted for, the original ones. Willow, Xander, Giles, and herself were sitting in her living room.

"Well have to get the windows replaced in the morning. Did someone call for glass?" Xander asked.

"Dawn is doing it. Leaving a message on the machine. I mean, we give them so much business that they usually show up when we ask." Buffy answered. "I'm tired."

"Where are the girls?" Willow asked.

"Asleep in our bed." Giles answered. Meaning, of course, they were in Buffy's room.

"Where will they go? I mean, if I die, one of them will be called. And there are no more watchers, except you." Willow looked at Giles for an answer.

"Well, I suppose I'll have to start training you two, Willow and Xander. And who ever else wants to learn. The world needs Slayers and Slayers need Watchers, after all." he said. He smiled at them but no one could return the gesture.

"I want to sell this house." Buffy said, looking around. "Let's fix it, and go someplace else. I can't stand it here anymore."

"Buffy-"

"No. Giles, I know that you like to 'Buffy-' me but I'm serious. We could get one with room for training and everyone who wants to live with me. And you could stay. Closer to the new high school for Dawn." She was right, they all knew it would happen.

"Tomorrow, maybe, we can talk about it. But let's at least fix this one first, huh?" Xander said, becoming the voice of reason. "I'll go make food and them maybe we'll get some sleep." he rose and moved to the kitchen to see what could be scrounged after such a battle. Buffy could see he was trying to make himself useful, trying not to think about Anya. Dawn came in and sat herself between Buffy and Giles. She leaned into him and reached out her hand to her sister who clasped it. Dawn's eye was hidden beneath the baggie of ice she held against it.

"I can't believe I pulled a Giles." she whined. "Ten minutes in I get knocked out and miss all the good stuff." she said.

"I resent that." He said, pulling on her wrist to inspect the damage.

"It kept you alive. That's all that matters." Buffy pointed out. They had found her collapsed figure afterwards, stashed in a dark corner, and carried her come. They had figured it to be Spike. He had, after all, promised to protect the girl. For now, her eye was swollen shut and purple. He sighed and placed the ice pack on it again. She shrugged.

"It at least looks like I'm cool. Like when you bake, but you don't really, you just buy the cookies and put them on the platter. But if you put flour all over your face, who'd know?" she said.

"Dawnie, why don't you go to bed? You had a pretty hard go of it." Willow suggested, getting up from the arm chair. "I'll go too." nodding, Dawn left the comfort of the warmth between Buffy and her Watcher to follow the witch upstairs. They were alone.

"You did well." he said.

"People died." she countered.

"People, but not the world. Not humanity. And not you." he said, his hand reaching across the back of the couch to massage her neck. He leaned her head forward to let him.

"I wish they could have lived. The potentials... Spike. He was a jerk, but I sort of liked him. Even Andrew, as annoying as he was..." she started to choke up. "Even he could have lived." She wiped the tears around when Xander came in with bowls of cereal for everyone.

"Well, I didn't expect they'd leave." He looked down at the extra bowls. "I'll eat them." But looking he saw how exhausted the Slayer was and that Giles' eyes were closed. "All of them."

"The only one who has good enough credit to get a loan is you, Xander." Giles concluded, hanging up the phone. Xander looked up.

"What?"

"The bank ran a credit history on everyone who is supposed to live in the new house, wherever it may be, to see who will need to put their name on the loan and it turns out that it is you." he said again.

"Wow. I've never... I mean... you kinda all are going to have to depend on me. It's trippy." he shrugged and went back to drilling. He was fixing a wall that had been busted through too many times by too many people. The whole house was beginning to take shape, look livable. Dawn and the potentials were all going to high school, Dawn's brief stint of home schooling overruled by her sister. Buffy was still playing guidance counselor as well. Giles' glanced at his watch, forgetting it was broken. Despite not knowing the exact time, he knew the car full of girls should be home any moment. At five, the real estate agent was supposed come and take he and Buffy, and now Xander, house hunting.

He felt her before he saw her. Through the drilling, he looked up to see her car coming down the street and the four girls got out, laughing. Backpacks and long hair. He almost wished for libraries and high school Buffy again, if only because that had been an easier time. He knew his place then at least. Now, at night, he kissed her neck and in the mornings her small body was hard against his and she liked to run her toes along his calf.

"Hey manly men." Dawn said, coming in and dropped her pack to the floor. "How goes the repairs?"

"I get to buy the house! Woohoo!" Xander said, his excitement finally betraying him.

"What?" Buffy said, glancing at her watcher.

"His credit was the only one that checked out." Giles supplied.

"Not even the G-Man can save this one." Xander nodded happily.

"Xander, you don't have to. I mean, buying a house is a big thing and I don't want you to feel obligated to do it." Buffy said.

"What? This means I get to stay with my best friends forever! OF COURSE I want to do it!" He said. Buffy grinned and wrapped her arms around him.

"Thank you." She said and he couldn't help but smile.

Later, in the living room of the house that Buffy wanted, Xander stood signing his name on document after document. The Seller wanted to sell as much as the Scoobies wanted to buy. It wasn't for sure but the house was big and all the fixing it needed could be easily handled by Xander. It had a basement for training and a tall fence. Not to mention lots of rooms for lots of people. Giles, Willow, Xander, Buffy, Dawn, and the two Potentials at least. Buffy and Giles were upstairs doing a more thorough inspection.

"I like how the master room has a balcony. Those are so much easier to get out of then windows." Buffy commented. Giles chuckled and shook his head. "You know," she continued. "Because sometimes there are bad things at the front door. And you have to go out another way."

"I was thinking we could put the bed over there. And if we get a storage unit of some sort, perhaps an antique then the closet will be big enough." He said, thinking aloud, eyeing the room some more. She was looking at him oddly. "What?"

"You still want to share a room... a bed with me?" she asked, almost but not quite surprised.

"Oh... that was quite presumptuous and out of line. Buffy, I apologize... I assumed when I shouldn't have. Of course we will get our own space... I don't even have to live here..." he was blushing and falling back on his old habit of stuttering.

"Giles! Whoa, chill. Of course you'll live here and it will be in this room, in OUR bed and I will have it no other way. I, also assuming, figured you'd want your own space." she admitted. He visibly relaxed.

"Good... good." He touched her shoulder briefly and went into to the adjoining bathroom to continue the inspection.

"But... Giles? We're going to have to talk about this pretty soon. I mean, we have our little dream conversations every once in a while but we have never- I like waking up with you." she said, following him into the bathroom. He stood at the sink and looked at her reflection behind his in the mirror.

"Can't we... I don't know what you want." He sighed and turned around.

"I know what I don't want." she said shrugging. "I don't want you to go back to England. I don't want you to have your own space or to stop doing what you have been doing."

"Do you want more?" he asked.

"Hey, guys? Are you ready?" Xander's voice called up the stairs and Buffy answered.

"Yeah. I'm ready." she called. She looked at Giles. He smiled.


	2. two

it was raining. buffy had been antsy to try out the new yard, the new training set up, for days now but the rain had come and not gone for almost a week. standing at the window watching the yard become soggy wasn't the most productive thing she could have been doing but she wanted to train! she wanted to pull out the wrestling mats and kick some butt in some open air. they had tried to train in the basement but it had started to flood. now that she thought about it, the windows could use new treatments as well. the new house needed so much work.

it had been six months. everything was different, she could see, yet everything was still the same. dawn still complained about school and chores. giles still worked every day at the magic box which had needed extensive repairs as well. xander kept fixing things, buffy kept destroying them. it was a new house and some people were missing but it was, fundamentally, the same. bad came, she killed it, someone picked up a bucket of chicken.

"buffy," she jumped when she heard her name.

"i didn't hear you come home." she said to her watcher who stood in front of her new in a green slicker with droplets of water running down the side of his face. she reached up to brush them away but he grabbed her hand and pushed it back down to her side.

"let's go train." he said, with a smile playing at his lips.

"did xander get the basement drained?" she asked, trying to think when on earth he could have gotten that done in the last day and a half.

"no, i mean in the yard like you are standing there longing to do." he said. "go put on something you don't mind ruining."

"we'll get soaked!" she protested.

"i already am. you have some catching up to do." he said, and headed towards the back door. grinning, she ran upstairs to their room.

giles had spent a lot of time and money decorating the room to his liking. there was an antique armoire in which he kept his clothing and she didn't argue about him getting the fancy closet – it made his clothes smell like cedar which she loved on him. they bought a new mattress and an wooden headboard that was hand carved and made the room come together. on the opposite wall from the armoire was a vanity he purchased for her with lights and a stool. it was so feminine that it balanced the dark, wooden, masculine feel of the room. he'd painted the walls a soft brown and she loved the cave like effect it gave. it felt like a warm, safe place to be together.

she pulled open the closet door and put on an old pair of sweat pants and a shirt that already had a tear and bloodstain in it. outside, giles was in his sweats and a white t-shirt that she could already see through, it was raining so hard. he'd not bothered with the mats and she could tell why. the ground squished and shifted between her bare feet. he had out the six foot staffs to practice with.

"no swords?" she called over the din of the falling water, disappointed. he looked so good with a sword.

"rain is one thing, lightning another thing entirely." he said and she nodded.

"gotcha." she agreed. she'd seen too many people burnt to a crisp in her lifetime already. she was certain she didn't need to be one of them.

dawn found buffy and giles still in the yard when she came home from school. they were soaked through and covered with mud. they were laughing. finally, buffy noticed her sister standing on the porch with a pink hello kitty umbrella to block the rain that the wind blew into her.

"you think you all have had enough crazy for one day? everyone is coming home and i thought we could make dinner." she said.

"of course," giles said and started for the porch.

"stop! if you think we are setting foot even near that house you are sadly mistaken, sir." buffy said. "dawn, get the hose."

"oh, lord." giles moaned. dawn took a sadistic glee in hosing the mud off her sister and giles. teeth chattering, buffy pulled off her sweats and t-shirt and made a run for the bathroom upstairs in their room. shrugging, giles removed his heavy sweats but left the t-shirt and boxers and went into dawn's bathroom downstairs.

he found buffy wrapped in a big purple towel laying on their bed and writing in her diary. she looked adorable and content.

"what are you doing?" he asked, reaching for his robe to put on so he could pull the wet towel from around his waist.

"just writing about today. so i don't forget." she said, putting the cap on her pen. "but i think i can wait for later." she reached for him and he sat next to her on the bed. "i think we have a few more minutes before we have to go downstairs, don't you?"

he gulped and nodded. she pulled his head down and they kissed softly. he was such a good kisser. buffy was starting to get a little frustrated with their current situation. even she didn't believe half the time that they'd never had sex but it was the truth. every night they crawled into bed and into each others arms content to be with each other and it just hadn't happened. she loved giles and if this was all the could have for the rest of their lives, she wouldn't complain. she knew that sex WAS possible because she could feel his erection against her in the mornings and when they kissed, but they hadn't gotten that far.

they almost had, once, on the first night they slept in the house. he'd been kissing her and kissing her until her skin was flushed and her thinking slow and dull. she'd opened his shirt and pushed up her night gown to get more skin on skin contact. his hands had started tugging the night gown up and she had froze.

"giles," she had said, "giles, i love you but i don't think i'm ready tonight." he had stopped and looked at her not with anger but with what looked like respect and only a smidgen of frustration.

"okay," he had said gently, and pulled the gown back on her skinny frame.

"you aren't mad?" she asked.

"not at all. it takes immense courage to tell someone that." he said, putting his hand to her face. "buffy, i love you as well and the last thing i want to do is make you uncomfortable." he wrapped his arms around her and she fell asleep feeling safe.

that was months ago and she had given more than enough signs and signals that screamed she was ready. she was just waiting for him to give it another go. she had been scared to move up that next and final physical level with her watcher and to lose that part of her life that contained the library and immense amounts of tweed. now she wanted him like she'd never wanted anyone else.

she pushed him onto his back and pulled the tie of his robe out of its loose knot. she felt her towel slipping down but modesty was the last thing on her mind. his hand tentatively touched the skin on her back and moved lower until it was resting where her lower back met her behind. she pushed the robe off him until he was lying nude underneath her. 'finally,' she thought.

"buffy, love, stop." he said, sitting up a bit so she would slow her attack.

"what? why?" she shrieked. "giles, i'm ready! i'm so ready i'm about to pop!"

"and i intend to make you pop but your sister is waiting for us." he said. she felt like screaming but coming upstairs to knock and interrupt was something her sister wouldn't think twice about doing. that was why her room was on a completely different floor in this house. buffy had insisted and it was one of the larger rooms so she didn't complain. willow had the other downstairs bedroom that had a door that opened to the back yard and xander had one of the upstairs room. the two potentials had shared the last room for almost a month but they wanted to go back to their families so that room was currently filled with boxes waiting to be unpacked.

"you're really ready?" she asked, excited. "because i wasn't before but i am and i want you to be too." she said.

"i know." he said, smiling. "put on some clothes before i forget all about your sister."

they had developed a routine of getting dressed in separate corners and showering when the other wasn't home. now, though, with this new promise of finally becoming a real couple she dropped the towel completely and walked over to the drawer that held her underwear. she could feel his eyes on her as she pulled on the flimsiest pink underwear she could find and pulled on a tank top without bothering with a bra.

"evil girl," he muttered.

willow was downstairs with the t.v. on and a textbook in front of her, taking notes.

"hey, did dawn start dinner?" she asked.

"in the kitchen with xander." willow answered, not meeting buffy's eyes.

"everything okay?" she asked her wiccan friend.

"just dandy. finals is all." she said. willow always talked about stuff in her own time so buffy let her be and went into the kitchen.

"hey buff," xander greeted. "heard i missed the mud wrestling earlier."

"yep, but there's still some in the shower drain if you want to see that." she said and he shook his head. "whatcha makin'?"

"chicken in the oven, salad in the fridge, and i'm putting butter on the garlic bread." dawn said. "i'm domestic." giles came in and put his hands on buffy's shoulders.

"smells wonderful. do you need help?" dawn thrust the tub of margarine at him with an audable sigh of relief.

"cook your heart out, i'm gonna watch t.v." she said. buffy shrugged and followed her sister in to watch cartoons with willow. she didn't mind so much imagining the men-folk cooking for the women. she'd always been the warrior, it seemed only fair that she should weasel out of the domestic stuff if she felt so inclined.

giles thought about setting the table but upon inspection, the women all looked so comfortable watching reruns of the x-files that he loaded up each plate and brought them out. he sat between willow and dawn and both girls scooted closer so they could rest their heads on his shoulders. buffy was sitting on the overstuffed chair and patted the cushion so xander would sit next to her.

finally, willow switched off the t.v. and startled everyone out of their full tummy fog.

"i have to tell you guys something." she said, softly. buffy felt panic rising in her throat. oh god, what was wrong now. she knew that things had been too good, that she had been too happy for it too last. "i applied to go to graduate school and i was accepted and i'm going to go." buffy could see the relief on everyone's face.

"congratulations!" dawn said.

"that is most impressive." giles agreed. they all heard his unspoken meaning. after her problems with magicks, and then the whole saving the world.

"which school?" xander asked, voicing buffy's question before she could. willow dropped her eyes to the rug again.

"oxford." she said.

"as in england?" xander squealed, his voice a few octives higher than normal. "across the pond, stuffy, scone-lovin', giles-breeding england?"

"i am sitting right here." giles said, indignantly.

"i know it's far but, god, i passed up oxford once already and it's amazing i get the chance to go again and i think it's what i really want." she said.

"then we're happy for you." buffy said.

"and you have our full support." giles said, with a smile.

"geeze, i hope you're this supportive when i go away to college." dawn remarked.

"WHAT?" buffy yelled.

"i can't imagine life without willow." buffy said, into the darkness of the bedroom. the impact of willow's announcement had taken the wind out of the proverbial sails for the moment.

"you managed when she was in england, with me." he pointed out.

"but she was with you, i knew you'd be keeping her safe." she said. "she's going to be over there completely without scooby."

"willow is nothing if not capable. i think that it was something she was meant to do." he said, and buffy sighed, her breath a warm breeze across his bare chest.

"i think that, too." she agreed and he kissed the top of her blonde head. she closed her eyes and breathed in the smell that was giles and felt completely relaxed. he traced light patterns on her skin until they both fell asleep.

the sun woke up buffy first. they'd been sleeping in later because the rain had kept the room darker for longer. she wasn't used to the sun and it was in her eyes when she opened them. it was only 6:30 according to the alarm clock on giles' nightstand. she was in her own house in her own bedroom in her own bed with her own love of her life. and yet, she had let the situation spiral into something that was out of control and so awkward and fumbling that they couldn't even talk about it. it was time to end that. giles was on his back and so she pulled the covers away from them and straddled him, kissing his neck softly to wake him up.

by the time his eyes fluttered open, he was half-hard from the slayer grinding her hips into his and sucking on his earlobe.

"well good morning." he said, with a chuckle that turned into a gasp as she reached for the hem of her nightgown and pulled it up and off.

"shh." she said. he couldn't talk anyway; she was naked on top of him. finally, he snapped out of it and started touching her everywhere. a hand on her butt and one on her breast, tweaking the nipples that stood out in the brisk early morning air. her head came down kissed him until he couldn't breathe. he'd wanted their first time to be slow and sensual and perfection but he'd waited too long for that.

she pulled the sweats down and he kicked his legs until they were off. she wrapped her tiny hand around his erection and stroked it a few times before leaning down and taking it into her mouth. he felt like yelling but it came out a guttural choke instead. her mouth was so hot and wet. his fingers weaved into her head as he tried not to thrust into the back of her throat.

"buffy," he pleaded finally and she stopped and scooted back up his body until her heat rested right above his bobbing erection. he put his hands on her hips and she sank down onto him. "christ, buffy." he moaned and she let out a cry of pleasure as well. she let herself adjust for a few moments and the lifted up and sank down again. his eyes rolled up and he squeezed them shut. her hands roamed all over his chest; she was always moving. he pulled her down so she was flush against them and rolled them over so he was on top. she looked surprised and then her face relaxed with pleasure as he continued to thrust harder and harder until she cried out and arched up against him. finally, he let himself go as well and collapsed down on top of her, knowing he couldn't crush her if he tried. she held him close, her fingers running through the damp hair at the base of his neck.

"everything okay?" she asked, ever worried about him.

"everything is… perfect." he said. when he looked up, she was crying. "happy tears?"

"happy tears." she said, and he spent the next few hours making love to her like he'd wanted to for so long.


	3. three

sometimes, buffy didn't feel like an adult. sometimes she felt like a teenager who was in way over her head. now, she sat on the closed toilet with the bathroom door locked, crying. she had stopped at the drug store on her way home from patrol ad slipped the small cardboard box into her pocket. she hadn't wanted to steal it but if the wrong people saw her buying a home pregnancy test, she could be in danger.

now, her hand holding the white stick with the bright pink stripe was shaking. she missed willow desperately, but it was the middle of the night in england and a week night. she knew her wiccan friend would forgive her but buffy also knew she could wait for a better time to call. first she had to tell giles. what was she going to tell giles? he knocked lightly on the door.

"buffy, is something the matter?" he said through the door. she had seen his shadow pacing back and forth in front of the door for almost ten minutes.

"everything's fine, i'm just finishing up." she said, trying to make her voice sound clear and calm.

"okay." he said, and he heard his footsteps recede and the mattress noises of him climbing into bed. she wrapped the stick and its packaging in toilet paper and splashed some cold water on to her face. she didn't know how to tell him. slayers didn't have children or live this long or sleep with their watchers or raise teenagers. slayers fought and died and were reborn. she was doing it all wrong, she knew, and every step she took made her less and less of a slayer.

"are you coming to bed now?" giles asked, closing his book and opening his arms for her.

"sure." she said, and slid in beside him.

"do you miss willow?" he asked.

"yes," she said and started to cry. even though she did miss willow, she would use her best friend as an excuse to cry on her lover's shoulder.

xander moped around, missing willow. everyone had come to the same conclusion that xander needed to get over anya's death so he could get a girlfriend. the house felt too empty now that willow had crossed the pond to further her education. her room was a guest room now, but no one ever slept there or went inside. everyone was waiting for her to come back.

"i was thinking of maybe going away for a while." xander said, from the doorway of dawn's room. the younger summer's woman looked up, startled.

"going where?" she asked.

"i'm not really sure. visit willow, maybe, and then go wherever the wind takes me." he said.

"what did buffy say?" dawn asked, sitting on the edge of her bed and xander came to sit next to her.

"i haven't told them yet." he said. "i wanted to see what you thought first."

"i understand. it's been kinda ho-humsville around here." she said. "we all miss willow and buffy and giles have been all smoochies." she said. "pretending like that's not weird."

"it was a little weird at first, but it makes a sort of sense you know?" xander mused and dawn shrugged.

"i guess. i mean, i love giles and it's better then riley or spike."

"maybe you should come with me." xander said, softly.

"what?"

"well… schools over in a few more weeks and i think willow would be happy to put us up for a little while." he said. he had a connection with dawn. they understood each other with being just normal people and all, sometimes not having a place. when xander thought about leaving, it was dawn who he thought he might miss the most. "we could tell buffy that it's a college trip… and that doesn't even have to be a lie! we could look at oxford with willow and any other school you want." he said hopefully.

"you don't have to convince me, xander, there is nothing more i'd like but buffy will never go for it." she said.

"go for what?" buffy asked, sticking her head in. "i was just a-walkin' by and i hear me-talk."

"nothing." dawn said, standing and resuming hanging up her clean clothes.

"it's not nothing." xander said. "we were talking about going to europe. i was talking about going to europe and i thought maybe dawn would like a summer vacation. we could look at schools and visit will." he said. buffy's face looked blank.

"you want to take dawn to europe?" she asked, finally. "for the summer?"

"it's an idea." xander said.

"do you want to go?" buffy asked her sister.

"yeah," dawn said. "it would be fun."

"well… i'm not paying for any of it." buffy said, and walked away.

"wait!" dawn called, "was that a yes?"

buffy woke up to a kiss on her forehead and dinner on a tray.

"what's all this?" she asked, stifling a yawn.

"dinner. i know you haven't been feeling well." he said. "look, a picked a daisy from the bulbs you planted."

"i love daisies." she said, sitting up.

"i know. are you feeling better?"

"i feel fine." she said, sitting up and looking at him. "why?"

"well, dawn said you were acting pretty out of it earlier though she didn't say why. and, also, i heard you throwing up this morning." he admitted.

"bad food, i think." she said, reaching for her tray. "but i'm fine now."

"i heard you yesterday morning, too, buffy." she didn't respond to this. she hadn't had a period in three months but she'd always been so irregular. she exercised so hard and was always so stressed out that she never really worried about it before. then the throwing up started and she felt tender everywhere and food starting making her nauseous. she'd sat at the new computer xander had bought after willow took her laptop and looked up pregnancy symptoms and then stolen the test and now she was just waiting. she didn't know what for.

"don't be angry, okay?" she said. "i'm fairly certain i'm pregnant."

"why would i be angry?" he asked, pulling her into a hug.

"we didn't talk about it. i know slayers and babies aren't the norm and its going to affect dawn and the gang and hello, sunnydale isn't exactly the safest place for any living thing." she rambled.

"buffy, i'm not young. i don't have to tell you that. you're the slayer. this might be our only chance." he said. "don't you want it?" her face crumpled, and she nodded. "good." he said. "eat your dinner, now. i know how you 'forget' to eat all the time and you can't be doing that now. i'll go downstairs and make a doctors appointment." she nodded. downstairs, he picked up the phone and called the doctor. picking up the phone again, he called willow.

"it's giles." he said, his voice somber. "i need you to do something for me."

dawn's room was in shambles. every article of clothing she owned was either in her black suitcase or in a wrinkled head on the floor. she stood in the middle of the formidable mess with despair.

"boy do you pack like your sister." giles said, standing in her doorway with his tea, chuckling. "be sure to leave some space in your bags for the things you buy." he said and she looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"not helping." she seethed.

"sorry." he said and wandered away to his bedroom across the hall. "how is this summer's woman doing?" he asked buffy who was laying on her back on the bed trying to button her skinny jeans to no avail. she looked at him and burst into tears.

"dawn's going away for two and a half months with xander and i can't fit into my skinny jeans. how do you think it's going?" she wailed.

"oh for christ's sake." he muttered, turning to go downstairs where he saw xander sitting quietly on the sofa, attacking a bag of cheesy chips.

"i find that if you don't make any sudden movements, they leave you alone." xander said, patting the cushion next to him.

"i hear you." giles said, looking up the stairs where he could hear dawn's door slam and her cry of frustration. "xander, i want to ask you something but i don't want you to be offended if i am mistaken." giles said, cautiously.

"okay." xander said, looking slightly apprehensive.

"dawn is… not a child any longer." he said. "if you think about it, dawn never was a child in the conventional sense and from the time she was fully human, her life style hasn't been one to keep her young."

"she's very mature." xander agreed, focusing on his chips.

"we all love dawn. she is buffy's sister, she's like a daughter to me. she's a good friend of willow's and spike was some sort of white night for her. it occurs to me, however, i'm not certain what dawn is to you." he said, pointedly.

"dawn is… like me. she's not a hero. we don't have super powers or big brains or were once or are currently a demon. i can relate to dawn." he said, turning the television off and setting the bag of chips down.

"dawn is a woman now, is what i'm trying to say, and you've asked her to go away with you for the summer. i don't want her to get hurt, or you. i don't want you to lead her on, xander. if you love her as you say you do, then i think that is okay. she is not to be a rebound for anya or a conquest of any sort."

"giles, i would.. i could never… dawn is… she's… i love her and…" he couldn't even speak.

"good." giles said. "now i am going to risk life and limb to go see if buffy has buttoned her pants yet." with a slight smile, he went upstairs.

in his bedroom, he saw dawn and buffy on the bed, hugging and crying. sighing, he decided to take a walk and let the house settle its self.

buffy decided not to come to the airport when giles drove xander and dawn to LAX. she'd been crying for two days straight and thought that saying her goodbyes in sunnydale would be easier and much less time consuming. the plane left at seven a.m. so it was still dark when the little red bmw pulled out of the driveway overloaded with people and luggage. buffy stood on the porch with a shawl wrapped around her (she was always cold these days) and waved, tears streaming down her face. things were going to be different, everything was changing and she could feel it in her bones, in her teeth, in the very tips of her fingers.

dawn slept in the back, her head on xander's suitcase. no one said much, xander kept changing cd's and radio stations. giles drummed his fingers on the steering wheel along to the beat and hummed and the humming lulled xander asleep as well.

he could no longer walk them to their gate, so he pulled up to the curb to help them unload their luggage and hug them goodbye.

"please call when you arrive, and write." he said, hugging dawn close to him.

"we will, giles." she promised, yawning and moving close to xander.

"i love you both very much." he said, his voice raspy. he never thought he'd be sending someone off to england. it had always been the other way around. "and buffy does too. just think of how pregnant she'll be when you return." he said. the words hung in the air. their tickets were one way, the flight back to be decided and bought later. something inside him had a nagging feeling that, perhaps, they wouldn't come back.

"i love you, too." xander said, hugging him.

"you can't help who you love." giles whispered into the younger man's ear. "the summers women, my lord, help us all." xander laughed, wiped his eyes, picked up luggage and then they were gone. giles, watched dawn's small frame disappear into the crowd, then got into his car for the long drive home.


	4. four

Dawn wrote once every two weeks. She wrote pages and pages in her neat, bubbly writing about what they were seeing; about the people she met; about the witches and vampires and demons that were everywhere, not just in Sunnydale. On the day Dawn was to start her senior year of high school, a few weeks after her 18th birthday, Buffy got a new letter on pale-pink stationary.

"Have you ever seen 'On Golden Pond'? Do you like Katharine Hepburn? I forget, old movies were such an exclusive Buffy-Mom thing. Either way: I married Xander in Brussels." her sister wrote, circles over all her i's.

She showed Giles who read the letter with a smile and watery eyes.

"'On Golden Pond'?" Buffy asked.

"A movie. I'll buy it for you while I'm out." he promised. Buffy was still her small self, just with a large swell where the flat plane of her stomach used to reside.

"I knew if I let them go, they'd be gone." she said, sniffing. Out side the kitchen window, the sun set. She pulled on her black trench coat, the new coat she bought that tied around her belly and waited for Giles to gather his briefcase. He'd hired a staff for the magic shop and started working at the History museum in downtown Sunnydale after hours working on decoding relics and other artifacts that passed over the hellmouth. The museum staff always needed his expertise. Buffy walked him downtown and then patrolled. He was wary of her patrolling in her current state, but she proved that she could more than take care of herself. He thought she looked even more graceful fighting while pregnant. At night, Giles slept with his hand on her stomach, feeling the baby kick against his palm. In the mornings, he broke capsules of vitamin E on her skin to reduce stretching and fixed her eggs and made her juice.

He could see that she was lonely. After living in a house filled to the brim with friends and loved ones to having everyone leave… it took its toll on her.

"It will be better when the baby comes." he told her. He missed the gang, too. Willow called and begged him to come to England, to bring Buffy and the baby, to have a high church wedding, to see how happy Dawn and Xander made each other. Buffy didn't want to abandon post but the hellmouth had been losing power. Even he could see it. A pregnant slayer was like having a neon target painted on her and yet patrols had been slow. There were other hellmouths all over the world and he suspected Sunnydale's golden age was ending. Buffy had done her job here. Faith would be willing to take over the new hot spot and the world was full of slayers. Buffy needed her friends. She needed her sister.

When he came home, she was asleep on the sofa with a cold mug of tea and the news on TV. He kissed her forehead.

"What if we sold the house?" he asked.

"What? We just bought the house!" she said, opening her eyes and sitting up groggily.

"What if we raised the baby abroad? What if everyone was together again?"

"I know I've been moody but it's the baby. I'm not unhappy here. Besides, I'm the slayer. Here is where I slay." she said. "Your daughter is awake." She put a hand to her stomach to calm the movement inside.

"Do you want to get married?" He asked. "That is to say… will you marry me?" She stared as he fumbled for the ring in his suit jacket. It was platinum, princess cut, and a modest sized diamond.

"My God, how long have you been carrying that around?" she asked.

"About two months. It was my grandmother's engagement ring." he admitted. "She was just your size."

"Aww. Giles! It's so beautiful. Of course, I will, of course." he slid the ring on her finger.

"I want to make you happy. I want us to be a proper family."

"I don't know what's gotten into you!" she looked at his hopeful face. "Sell the house, though? It feels like… this house, it's the last thing I have of my Sunnydale life." Giles was often surprised how much Buffy looked like Joyce, the older she got. Buffy had gotten the boxes of her mother's clothing out of storage. Joyce had liked to wear large, flowing tops and Buffy found the worked well as maternity clothes in some cases. Other days, she just wore Giles' button down oxford shirts.

"Perhaps we could rent it, then. Use the tenants rent to pay off the mortgage so we wouldn't be losing money and we always have a place to come back to." he suggested.

"Do you miss home? England, I mean?" she asked.

"I do. I made the choice to come here and to stay with you but there are some things I miss, of course."

"I miss Dawn." she said. It wasn't an agreement from her but it was a step in the right direction so he didn't push it anymore for the time being.

Buffy was calm when she shook his shoulder to wake him.

"What?" he asked, his face pushed into the pillow.

"Giles, I think my water just broke." she whispered, not wishing to startle him. He turned on the light and looked at her.

"Are you quite sure?" he asked, trying to repress the panic he felt rising inside. She threw back the bedclothes and he saw the dampness she was laying in. "Oh my God. I'll call an ambulance."

"Giles, no. I'm fine. I'm going to get dressed and then why don't you drive me to the hospital? An ambulance taking the slayer away is like ringing the dinner bell." she said calmly. She had a light sheen of sweat covering her.

"Have you been in labor?" he screeched.

"It hasn't been so bad, yet." she said, slowly standing and removing her wet nightgown. On the chair near the bed were her maternity sweats and a button down flannel shirt.

"You have an extremely high tolerance for pain! Buffy, you should have told me." He'd thrown on some clothes and was guiding her downstairs.

"I'm sorry." In the car, he sped through red lights and she cracked the handle about the door gripping it so tightly. Still, she didn't complain or cry out. He was forever marveling at her strength. She took his cell phone from the glove compartment and turned it on.

"Are you calling the doctor?" he asked. "Because we're only a block away."

"I was sending a text message to Xander's phone. To let everyone know." she said. Giles parked in a red ambulance zone and ran around to open her door. She tried to protest his erratic behavior but as soon as the staff saw them, she was put into a wheel chair and taken into the backroom while he went to park the car. The E.R. staff knew them well and knew that Buffy was due.

The doctor was there when Giles was finally shown to her room. He put on some proper scrubs over his t-shirt and jeans and went to hold her hand.

"You're wife waited too long to come in, Mr. Giles." he chided.

"I know. She has a high pain threshold." he didn't bother to correct the wife mistake. She would be soon enough.

"Either way, we'll begin pushing in just a few minutes." The doctor stepped out to wash his hands and to let the nurse prepare everything. Buffy was unusually quiet.

"Are you okay? Are you ready?" he asked, kissing her sweaty forehead.

"I'm ready. I'm just worried. Will the baby be… special?" she asked, eyeing the nurse. "Can we keep it safe?"

"I was going to tell you after but I asked Willow months ago to gather a special coven." he said.

"Why?" she asked, through clenched teeth. The need to push was beginning to overwhelm her.

"They've been putting protection spells on you and the baby around the clock. They haven't rested for months." he assured her.

"For me?" she asked.

"Yes. You're a slayer and you're having a child. I didn't and don't want to take any chances." The doctor came back in. "Everything will be fine." Giles promised one last time.

The doctor looked at them.

"Are you ready to start?"

The baby had red hair.

"My mother was a natural red head." Giles commented. "Actually, I think she might rather look like my mother."

"She's so small." Buffy commented. The baby was barely over six pounds and the entire nursing staff had been coming in and out for hours to see the newest Scooby. They were happy to see Buffy and Giles in the hospital for something other than an injury. The card on the crib just said 'Baby Giles'. They'd barely talked about names, let alone decided on one. "What was your mother's name?" Buffy asked, ashamed she didn't know more about his family.

"Rosemary. She died when I was 32. Cancer." he said.

"Hmm, so something Rosemary Giles. It's a start." she said and Giles smiled at her kindness.

"What was your grandmother's name?" he asked.

"Elizabeth. I was pseudo named after her." she said, wrinkling her nose. "We should give her a strong name. She comes from strength."

"I agree." he said, "Lets ask the others."

"Have they called?" she asked, looking at the sleeping bundle in her arms.

"Willow called while you were sleeping but the connection wasn't good so I told her we'd try again when we got discharged tomorrow morning."

"Did the curtains for the nursery ever come?" she asked. Giles had spent the last few weeks changing Willow's old room into a nursery since it was right across the hall from their room. He'd painted the walls a light green, bought a crib and changing station and tons of clothes and diapers. They didn't stencil the walls or do anything too permanent since the idea of moving abroad was still fresh.

"I put them up already when I went home to change." he assured her.

"Then everything in my life is perfect." she said and fell asleep.

"Do you want me to come home?" Dawn asked over the phone. "Because I'll come help for as long as you need me."

"Aww, no. Well, I want to see you but you live there now." she said. "Besides, I think this crazy idea of moving out there is something I'm starting to consider, maybe in the next year or so." Buffy said. "Then you can come and help us pack."

"Oh yay. Packing." Dawn said. "Remember how not good we are at that?"

"We'll just hire movers. The magic box is good. So good, Giles hardly ever has to go in and he loves his museum gig. It's been so long since I haven't been poor. It's nice." she said.

"Xander is doing renovations on this old cathedral and I'm a waitress. It's like being in college but without the smarts." she said. "Did Giles tell you that I got my G.E.D. through the mail? I am a United States high school graduate."

"He told. I'm proud. Hey, I gotta go. Baby and Giles are leaving."

"Okay. Well, call when you name her. Sheesh."

"Bye." They hung up and Giles smiled handing her the whimpering baby.

"She's hungry. You'll be okay?" he asked.

"Yes, go. I'm fine." she said. "Don't walk because I can't walk you. Drive."

"Yes, Ma'am." he said and kissed his wife and daughter goodbye and left for work.

She let the baby start to nurse and finished out the list of names from her pocket.

Kathryn

Lauren 

Natalie

Elizabeth

Joyce/Joy

Stacy

Tara

Anya

She wanted the name to have meaning but didn't really want to name her after someone, no matter how much she'd loved Tara and Anya. Plus, she though naming the baby Anya might be weird for Dawn and Xander. She wanted to start fresh. She liked Natalie but it sounded bad with Rosemary. The baby had fallen asleep and Buffy leaned down to smell her baby smell and went upstairs to put her to bed.

At first, Buffy was almost afraid to touch the baby. She was the strongest woman in the world and the baby was so tiny and fragile and helpless. Giles assured her that while the baby was small and helpless, she was stronger and more resilient than she seemed.

Her hair was staying vibrant Willow red but the blue eyes she'd had at birth had starting turning green like both her parents.

Buffy opened to the obituaries of the newspaper by habit. She skimmed what seemed like a small amount of death announcements for Sunnydale. Most were elderly or died of a disease. There were no disappearances or mysterious neck traumas. Maybe Giles was right - maybe Sunnydale's hellmouth was past its prime. there hadn't been any demon-y crisis since well before the baby was born and even vampires were scarce. She had a family now. She was no longer the last line of defense. She could have the life she always wanted. It was just within her reach.

The house was all crated up and now she was watching the big, burly movers move all the crates to their truck to be shipped across the Atlantic. The new family who was renting the house was to arrive from Texas next week. She was packed, the baby was packed and all she had to do was catch a taxi to the airport, get on a plane, and Giles would be there to meet her on the other side.

Two movers walked by and she saw one of the men's foot catch and the crate start to fall. Reaching out her left hand, she caught it and made sure it was upright so the men could move forward again.

"Thanks," the guy said, looking at her with awe. "that was amazing."

"I work out." she said, shrugging, with a mysterious smile. She saw her daughter roll into the room with her rolling seat and smiled.

"You ready to go, Ellie?" she asked and the child raised her arms so her mother could lift her up. Next week, Eleanor would turn one year old and they would all be together for that. She hadn't seen her sister or Xander since they had left for their 'summer vacation' almost two years ago and she hadn't seen Willow for longer. She was too excited for words. Giles had gone to England to find a home and then gone once again to get the new place ready. He'd been gone for two long weeks and today (or was it tomorrow in England?) she would see him.

She saw the cab pull up outside. Gathering her child and all the luggage, she said goodbye to Sunnydale.


End file.
